All Because of a Puffy Shirt?
by Damia Natura
Summary: Rina is not the most observant person in the world, and doesn't ask questions...at least not ones that make sense, but when her friends find themselves in serious trouble she needs help to save them, but can she trust the stranger in the puffy shirt?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Let me see…where did this all start? Hmm…Sorry about this, I've never been real good at keeping track of the events in my own life." I kind of chuckle at my own shortcomings.

"Why am I not surprised?" He says with that sneaky grin of his…it makes him look even more like a pirate. Well minus the bad teeth…he has very nice teeth, and nice hair, it's long, but not too long and shiny, and then of course that puffy shirt... Oh yeah I have to continue the story.

"Ok, well that town back there is the same one I grew up in. Nothing exciting usually happens there, it's very peaceful. I first met these friends while doing some volunteer work. Don't give me that look, I was volunteering because I wanted to, not to make up some wrongdoing. I swear! I was a good kid, I still am." I hate that look, why doesn't he believe me, I mean sure, we're technically criminals now, but, ok he's staring again, time to get out of your head, Rina!

"Where was I again? Oh yeah, so we did some volunteering stuff as a group, like cleaning up the roads, or entertaining the elderly, that sort of thing. My mom made me join when I was little so I would have some friends, I've never been really good at choosing my own friends, I am a terrible judge of character."

"Thanks." I can sense his sarcasm and glare at him.

"So it's been quite a few years since we've known each other, and then there was some ceremony going on in that building that we were volunteering to help out with."

He interrupts, "You don't even know what you were helping out with?"

"Not really, like I said, I've never paid much attention to what events were going on in my life. I was just asked to help out with setting stuff up for some conference or meeting or whatever. Anyway, so there were all these guards there, so I think it must have been pretty important, because normally the King's guards aren't there."

"Prince."

"What?"

"He's not a King yet, he's still a Prince."

"Oh, whatever. The King's Guard sounds more official than 'The Prince's Guard'." I say this mostly to win the argument, I don't know why he makes me feel so competitive.

"Well it's still called the King's Guard, but you said King's guards, not the King's Guard." He states with a smug look on his face.

"Do you want me to tell you what happened or not?" I may have said that a little too forcefully.

"Do you want me to turn you all in or not?"

I reply "Grrr…." And slump back down, my stupid thick and unruly brown hair falling into my face. "Fine, So I was off setting up the tables and snacks, and someone bumped into the cookie tray and then they all shifted so I had to fix them and get them back in the same perfect order they were in before, I'm a little OCD with stuff like that. And that's when all six of them came running in. They looked really scared and panicky. I asked them what happened, but they mumbled something about Chrissy, (she's the short but pretty red head), and a guard and then Lynn,( the lanky blonde one with blue eyes, Erica's the blonde one with brown eyes…) and Stef, ( the brunette who's following them around all the time), came to help her and then there was a scramble of six against one and they don't know if the guard is alive or not because no one wanted to get the close to him. And to ask someone would have been suicide since you know how the guards are, beat first ask never."

"So they could have killed a guard?" His eyes widen, I guess he knew how bad that is in this world.

"Could have I guess, but I didn't want to stick around to see what happened, so we went outside and I found some of the horses and led them into the woods."

"What you are telling me is, a guard is probably dead, and your only involvement is helping the criminals escape. Why didn't you turn them in?"

"They are my friends." I can't believe he's even suggesting I turn them in.

"They broke the law, and you don't even know the whole story."

"So what, they are still my friends."

"You are on the run for your life, and you don't even know why! Don't you see a problem here? Did you even THINK?!" he raises his voice, but it still stays that deep tone, just less…what's the word?...Melodious I guess you could call, he'd be really good at telling bedtime stories.

"Sure I did, after we were running, I realized I couldn't really lead them in the woods, I wouldn't know where to go, and then we found you."

He just glares at me for a moment, like I have three heads. "So, because you made a mistake, you drag me, some random innocent stranger, to help you navigate the woods away from the guards. For ALL YOU KNEW I WAS WITH THEM!"

"I knew you weren't with them, or that innocent."

"Because I was wearing a puffy shirt?"

Even though I know he's mocking me I still have to respond with a childish "Yup!"

"You're insane." At this point he walks away to prepare for his shift tonight. And that's how all of this started.

He really is a funny guy, whether or not anyone else sees it is their problem, they just need to stop staring so much and relax, yeah sure he had dark brown hair, darker than mine, and green eyes that are more hazel than green. And seems strong…I didn't really pay that much attention. When we met though, I was so convinced he was the person to help us, even if the other girls don't quite trust him. We were riding the horses through the woods, trying to escape the guards that were already chasing us, and I remembered some of the trail from a dream I had had, although methods like those aren't the most convincing arguments. We managed to gain some time by taking a shortcut but that was the extent of my knowledge, I knew if we were going to continue, and at this point we had to, we would need more than just luck that I had had a dream of the route we needed to take. That's when he showed up. Coincidence, I think not!

He was riding on a horse, I don't even know what direction he came from, but since he wasn't wearing the guard's uniform, I took it as a sign that he wasn't one of them. He seemed to be familiar with the area as well as riding a horse. And to top things off, he had on a white puffy pirate-like shirt. That's when I knew we could trust him. I should probably reiterate that I am normally an awful judge of character, but that's only most of the time, and usually there's some messed up version of logic in there somewhere. This I just knew, no logic involved. After all, if he was wearing a puffy shirt, he must be like a pirate, an outlaw like us. But it was white, so he must be a good outlaw. So I rode up to him and asked him to help us out.

He looked really surprised that I was talking to him and asking for help, so I explained that we didn't know the woods very well and that the guards were chasing us and we needed help, and reiterated my request. The girls were signaling me to come back, that I had said too much, that it was dangerous, it was quite comical. But to everyone's surprise, except mine of course, he agreed to help us, and he led us away from the guards at a speed that was not comfortable to anyone.

That night we were sitting by a campfire trying to eat the fish the puffy shirted man had caught. I hate fish, they creep me out, but I guess that's why he had me sit there while he cleaned and gutted it out. He kept laughing at me and my reactions…so I got kind of upset, and left for a bit, where the rest of my friends cornered me and questioned me about the stranger. How did I know he was safe? Was I sure? Did I just fall for the fact that he was a handsome man riding a horse? Etc. And I tried to explain it was all because of the puffy shirt. Unfortunately that's the part he walked in on.

"Are you seriously saying that you trust me solely on my shirt?"

"Uhhhh…yeah, actually." I said with my childish grin.

He looked puzzled but continued questioning me. "What is it about my shirt that you trust?"

"Well, it's a puffy white shirt…like a pirate's"

"Since when are pirate's trustworthy?"

"Well, we're now outlaws, and pirates are outlaws, and so…"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S SAFE TO TRUST THEM!" Lynn yelled, she has never had a problem voicing her opinion, and loudly at that.

"shhh" the rest of us tried to calm her down, since we don't want to give our position away.

"She's right though, for all you know, I plan to kill all of you, or turn you all in, or lead you to a trap or worse." He smirks as he cleans off the knife on the grass.

I can't help but let out a little giggle, "Nah… you wouldn't do that," I say with a shoulder shrug, "otherwise you wouldn't be wearing a puffy shirt."

Now he looks just plain confused, but he starts laughing anyway, "So if I wasn't wearing this shirt, you wouldn't trust me?"

I stare at him for a while and finally agree with myself that the correct answer is "Exactly." And everyone stares at me like I just sprouted wings.

"And here I was thinking you just wanted to find some way to get my attention and ask me out." He starts to walk away towards the fire.

"WHAT?!!! Where did you get THAT idea?!!" I almost forgot myself and start half-yelling at him. But we all follow him anyway.

"What else was I supposed to think? NORMAL people don't ask for help from strangers solely because of the shirt they are wearing. Oh, and dinner's ready."

"Well nobody said I was normal." HA! I won that one. And NO ONE is going to disagree to that.

While lost in my thoughts of my memories, I feel my hair ruffled and I jump up. "You're still up? You really should TRY to get some sleep before your shift." He walks behind me laughing as he goes into his sleeping area. It's been at least a week, and he still won't tell us his name. Which I'll admit is suspicious, but he still has the puffy shirt, so he can't be all that bad.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Why do I get the early morning shift? Honestly, I hate mornings like nobody's business…and he looks too cheerful…I hope a squirrel falls on his head.

"You really should try a morning swim in the river, it's really refreshing" he gallops next to me just to tease me…I HATE MORNINGS!

"Nah, I'll leave that to you and Gloria, I'm not a strong swimmer."

"Ahh, I see, you're afraid that without my puffy shirt on you can't rely on me to make sure you don't drown. Ok" he winks and gallops off. Grr….make that 2 squirrels.

A short way along the trip I hear the sound of children's laughter and voices, but as I go up to caution our puffy shirted leader, a small boy runs out to the sidelines and yells "STOP!"

I stop the horse and get down, but a voice from the front yells "What are you doing? We have to keep moving" and I know he's annoyed but I ignore him anyway and ask the boy why. That's when I notice that the leaves by the side of the path bulge in a peculiar shape with a face. While the boy stumbles over words I uncover the leaves to reveal a sleeping baby, and I pick her up. A total of 4 children two boys and two girls come running up to the spot where I stopped. That's when I realize he's also right next to me barking orders at the children to tell him who they are and what they are doing. He sounds very commanding; I take back that bedtime story thought from earlier. They sit down in a line down the street, looking very downtrodden, not the same children I heard laughing a second ago.

"Calm down, you're scaring them." I say gently.

But he hisses in my ear "We have to keep moving."

"We're runaways," the same boy that told us to stop pipes up, sticking out his chest to prove that he's not afraid, but it just made him look adorable, especially matched with the dirt streaks on his face.

"Runaways from what?" I ask.

After some shifty eye movements a little red-haired girl answers "the orphanage, that's my sister that you're holding, I couldn't leave her behind."

"I understand" I answer, "we are runaways too, you guys can come with us"

"WHAT?!" the man in the puffy shirt looks like his eyes are going to fall out of their sockets. "You have to be kidding me."

"Why not, there are eight of us, and five of them, we can take them with us, they are small enough to share horses."

"What about food? And places to sleep? Do you think ANYTHING Through?"

"It'll be easier than them living alone, we'll figure things out."

Luckily I was traveling with people who like to help others, otherwise I might not have gotten my way, actually now that I think of it, as upset as he was, he looked more at a loss for words than anything…so I might have gotten my way anyway. Then again, he could have also seen that everyone else was on my side and given up early. I guess I'll never know.

We quickly split up who was going with who, Tim, the brave one who told us to stop, went with Chrissy, who had the most riding experience, the red-haired girl, Sion went with Erica, I took Sion's sister Caren, while the other little boy Michael rode with our puffy shirted leader, much to his chagrin at sharing when it wasn't his idea. Jasmine insisted on riding with Lynn for whatever reason, and we started moving again.

"So, do you have a place in mind that we have to get to? Or are we just going to be nomads?" I ask.

"Well, I figured I would lead you around in circles until you got tired then lead you into an ambush of guards." He answers way too casually. I just stare at him.

"Ok…well I figured we could find a clearing, hopefully near a river where we can build more permanent shelter."

"But we've passed several clearings that we could use."

"We need to still get some distance before that happens, like maybe in the next kingdom, and stopping by a town for some supplies would be nice. Now that we have some kids with us though, we should live near a town so they can go to school." He shoots me an accusatory look.

Hehehe…I guess I should think things through…but I couldn't leave them there, all alone. Wait a minute, "Why can't we teach them?"

"You are insane."

"No, seriously, We've worked with kids before, and Lynn and Erica are training to become teachers, they could teach them! And Chole has studied some medical stuff."

"Partial studies…and In Training, are two things that don't make them completely qualified."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. They wouldn't have gone to school if they were living alone anyway."

He looks like he's about to protest but we arrive at a clearing, and it is lunchtime. You know kids at lunch time…well actually I think I'm the worst.

"EEEEEEE It's so PRETTY AND THE SUN IS SHINING AND THERE'S FRESH GRASS!!" I practically jump off the horse and roll around in the clearing. Tim, Michael and Jasmine join in quickly, but Sion takes a while to warm up. While Chloe and Gloria set up lunch stuff, the Puffy Shirt sets up a small fire to cook some fish. Somehow I managed to become the Dragon that the knights and ladies had to defeat…I don't know why I turned into the villain, but there's not much I can do when I'm being tackled four against one.

"Is she always like this?" he looked up from the fire to ask Lynn.

"Yeah, pretty much, for as long as I've known her."

"Actually, if you remember, she didn't act like that when she was that age," Chrissy responds

"Oh, you're right, when we were that age she always had a book in her hand, and if she wasn't reading she was staring off into space." Lynn continues

"She was also known for giving really good advice back then," Erica pipes up, "You remember that one kid who called her "The great and wise Rini?"

"Rina, give good advice? That's impossible." He laughs.

"HEY!" I yell at him "I heard that! Why don't you do something useful like get these darn kids off of me!" the kids laugh even more.

"You reap what you sow" he calls back "Oh, and lunch is ready!"

That did it, the kids go running around to get their pieces of fish and the small slices of bread we've managed to save since the last time we saw other people. I hope we find some berries or something soon…I'd like to eat something a little more healthy if possible.

"So I think we should be coming up by a town by nightfall, since I am not on any Wanted lists, I should be able to arrange to get some place for us to stay, and walk into a store to pick up some supplies, maybe even find some seeds for when we get to our destination." The man in the puffy shirt casually announces to the group. You can see the look of relief wash over some faces, but Chrissy, Gloria and Chloe still look a little on edge.

"Wait? You're not on any wanted Posters? But you have a puffy shirt." I look at him questioningly.

He rolls his eyes, "Just because I have a puffy shirt, doesn't mean I was an outlaw before all this craziness happened."

"So you weren't?"

"No, I wasn't."

"Then you could be leading us into a trap."

"That's what I've been trying to point out to you for the past two weeks!"

After I stare at him for a while I respond with "Well, if you haven't turned us in now, you probably won't so I was right in asking for help from someone in a puffy shirt after all."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Oh showers, How I have missed you!" I towel off my wet hair, "and soft fuzzy towels too."

"They aren't really that fuzzy" there's that smirk again.

"Well it's better than using dirty clothes again and again and again. I'm going to get started on dinner, ERICA, SHOWER'S FREE!" I shout out.

"Can I help with anything?" he asks as Michael runs and falls right into his leg.

"You could entertain the children…" I smile and prance into the kitchen.

"And how do you suppose I do that?" he asks…but the children just smile at their own idea.

While boiling water for the spaghetti, I hear the sound of springs bouncing and a number of "Tell us a story"'s being shouted, I think Jasmine's voice is actually the loudest…maybe that's why she likes Lynn so much?

I don't know how he could convince the landlord to rent out such a big apartment for one night, but he did it. And now I finally get to make something healthy. I peek around the corner at the new sounds and see the puffy-shirted man acting out a play, and getting everyone, including my friends involved. Oh the pot's boiling! YAY! I like spaghetti, yay yay yay! I like spaghetti, Oh oh oh, I like spaghetti yay yay yay! And that is the way that it will stay! I like to sing while I cook…it makes things more fun. As I am making the spinach I have to hum the pop-eye theme song, it just wouldn't be spinach without it, you know? Unfortunately I already hear complaining about the spinach, and it's not even on the table yet.

After dinner everyone helped clean up, especially because the play took a lot of props. I don't know what play it was though, and whenever I ask, everyone just laughs at me. I think Mr. Puffyshirt is playing a trick on me. Oh yeah, I decided I would call him Mr. Puffyshirt since I don't know his name yet. Heeheehee. We set up the sleeping arrangements, but then the children all decided to go to sleep, so I had to wake them up for them to go brush their teeth. Mr. Puffyshirt actually went shopping for stuff like towels, and blankets and toothcare, and soap, and food, I don't remember what else, but he thinks things through a lot better than I do, poor guy.

As the kids came out of the bathroom I just had to hug them, they were all in a straight line and looked so tired and cute, besides, I'm sure they didn't get a lot of hugs at the orphanage, and a childhood without hugs doesn't sound very nice. They all went to bed and I tucked them in, of course that led to some jokes from the peanut gallery.

"Rina, will you tuck me in too?!" "Rina, read me a bedtime story" "Rina, I want a bedtime hug too!" and so on…although, none of the jokes came from Mr. Puffyshirt, the only thing he said was "You'd make a good mom". Other than that he was just very quiet, contemplative and looked like he needed a hug. I actually don't like giving hugs though, I have a personal space bubble, hugs kind of invade that, but like I said, a childhood without hugs isn't very nice. I never actually wanted children either, but here I am, just adopted five of them, well not legally of course…OH that's it, he also bought diapers, those cloth kinds so we can wash them in the stream. He is really thoughtful.

For some strange reason I'm still awake. I couldn't get to sleep. I check up on all the kids and notice even Chloe's asleep, and she is the lightest sleeper out of all of us. I know because we all used to go camping together. Well I walk to the kitchen and Mr. Puffyshirt through the window sitting on the steps. So I got him some water too and sat down next to him.

"You can't sleep either?" I ask

"I've just been thinking too much."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Now, I'm becoming a little suspicious, I mean he looks kind of troubled, and he didn't look or act this way when we were in the forest. Now that we've entered town…Maybe he realized…I don't know what am I thinking? He's still wearing the puffy shirt.

"Do you think you're going to miss it?" he startles me out of my thoughts

"Miss what?"

"Your life, family, job?"

"Well, I'll miss my family sure, I was a little unsure about the job department, and my life wasn't quite what I was expecting either, so I don't think I'm really missing much of anything. What about you? Why did you choose to stay with us and help?"

"I guess, I was kind of lost…and it seemed like an adventure, I may not have gotten another opportunity."

"Who were you before us Mr. Puffyshirt?"

"Mr. Puffyshirt?" He looks really confused…oh shoot! I didn't mean to call him that to his face.

"Uh….yeah, well you see…I didn't know your name, and…well I had to call you something….and you do have a puffy shirt…so it makes sense in my mind!"

He just laughs, "so you all call me Mr. Puffyshirt?"

"No, just me…I don't know what they call you"

"So why did you need to come up with a name to call me by?"

"For my inner monologues of course!"

"You are insane." He just laughs and ruffles my hair again…which I just cleaned by the way!

"You're the one who ran off to help a bunch of stranger/outlaws out of need for adventure."

"Oh yeah, it's definitely crazy to run off into the woods to help a group of beautiful damsels in distress." He counters.

He must have seen Chrissy before I started talking to him…THAT'S why he was riding close to us…I mean, she's the prettiest and the best rider out of all of us, he must have been trying to keep up to impress her...And I took advantage of it...Bad Rina! Bad!

"Are you ok? You look like you just got hit in the head by a brick." Oh, silly Mr. Puffyshirt, if I had a brick I would have hit myself with it already…

"I'm fine, I just feel bad for involving you in such an aimless plot."

"Life is full of those, and this one has been rather entertaining. What I still don't get is why did you throw away everything to not just help your friends but lead them?"

"There wasn't much to throw away. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life, but the world isn't conducive to the life of a jack-of-all-trades any more. Everything requires special training, and everyone expects you to try to be the best of one thing, not understand a lot of things. Besides, I've never been really good with social situations, I jump to the wrong conclusions, and don't like to speak unless I have something to say, and no matter how good I am for a job, or how much of a perfectionist I am, unless I make a good impression, I can't go anywhere. So you see, I'm not really leaving much behind. This is the first time I've actually felt impulsive and free, not thinking about consequences because you actually take care of that for me." I can't help but laugh at that realization "Sorry about that, but it's true, I used to think EVERYTHING out and do nothing, and now..."

" You act without thinking" he adds

"Exactly."

"It's funny how things like that work out."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he continues, "My life before being Mr. Puffyshirt, was too impulsive. I never thought about the consequences because I just didn't care. I only thought of myself, and I hated the idea of anyone depending on me. It drove my family crazy. Especially because where you're lack of planning still comes from the goodness of your heart to help people, mine would very often lead to my entertainment at the expense of others."

"I feel like this is the part where I'm supposed to say 'Well, now that you've learned your lesson, you can leave and go home, start anew' etc. But seriously, if you wanted to go back and fix the life you had, we can try to get there on our own, I mean…how much further can it possibly be?" I started out joking, but I realize that he might actually want to go home, and if I let him go, then there's less chance of him turning on us out of frustration from being with us too long.

"And leave everyone at the mercy of 'our clueless leader' not a chance" he grins but then his smile fades away and he pulls me closer to him.

"Guards, just play along so they don't recognize you." He whispers, Man…he's smells nice. Of course he smells nice he just took a shower. Don't get carried away Rina.

I was so shocked when he put his lips to mine that I almost bit the tongue that had slipped its way into my mouth. It's smooth caresses matching that of the fingers running through my hair and down my jaw line. How am I supposed to think when such pleasure fills my heart. Why do I feel this way? This isn't right. What is he doing, why is he doing this. Why isn't this right again? Lost in the illusion I start to hear a voice outside of rush filling my head.

"Hey you kids!" I slowly feel the sensation of his tongue leaving my lips and I steal one more moment.

"Hey you kids, get a room or get inside!" followed by some rude whoops and cheers from what I can only assume are the guards.

I realize this is my cue to blush and hide my face as I scramble inside like a shy school girl. Once inside I lean against the wall trying to organize my thoughts. There's no way he could have meant that kiss for me. I have to calm down he only did it to protect me and it just happened to work perfectly to keep me out of trouble. But I can't shake this feeling…AHHH I can't face him after this. Run AWAY! I practically run down the hallway into the room and quietly slip into bed and pretend to be asleep. Maybe I can wake up and find out this was all a weird dream or premonition.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

We are on the road again, and everyone seems to be in good spirits. Well that is except for me. I try to act like everything is normal, but I am just a little jumpy around Mr. Puffyshirt now. On the bright side, everyone seems to be warming up to him finally. But something about him seems different to me. I know he technically kissed me, so of course I'm seeing him differently but, I don't know about him anymore.

"Ahh!" I practically jump off the horse as he rides up next to me and taps my shoulder. How did he get behind me? He was in front of everyone and I was behind and…wait…where is everyone?

"Are you planning on joining us for lunch, Rina?" he asks, a small smile to show he knows what I was thinking about. HE DOESN"T KNOW!!! He's just ASSUMING!! And he's WRONG!!! WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!...ok…maybe not that wrong…but I better say something.

"oh, yeah, sorry I was thinking about last night. GAH! that's not what I meant! I mean, not what happened! Just…what we talked about…about missing our families and such." That was close….Why is he still smiling?

"Oh, don't smirk at me Mr.!"

"Mr. what?" he continues to smile

I can't help but laugh as I dismount and tie the horse to a tree. Earlier this morning there was a lot of confusion over that. Apparently while in town, he bought some extra clothes, and while he was guessing on sizes for us, they turned out to not be too bad of a fit.

Anyway, he greeted us this morning in this new outfit, which included a shirt that, well…was not puffy. And I may have not recognized him at first…actually that's not my fault! He approached me while I was deep in thought, and I thought he was just some strange guy who snuck in or who the other girls met or something (because I slept a little later than usual, but I couldn't fall asleep!). Anyway…he tried to say "good morning" and I kind of mumbled something, and then later he asked if I was mad at him, and that's when I was like "who are you?" he thought I was kidding, and to be honest I wasn't really looking at him when I asked that, I had been avoiding everyone's faces, and I was tired…and well…it was Mr. Puffyshirt…without his puffy shirt. Long story short, he's wearing the puffy shirt now, and I'm being ridiculed for not recognizing him. But he did look different, and I can't get over it. This feeling he's hiding something now. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

After lunch we continued riding, and I continued to avoid eye contact. I couldn't stay in the back this time because of the child rotation system, but at least I am not up front with him. Stef is, and they seem to be talking like old friends. Although, Stef does like to flirt a bit, giggling and fluttering her eyelashes to show off the green in her eyes, flipping her hair (things I'd never consider doing because, well lets face it, I'm not ugly, but I'm not what you'd call "pretty" either, I'm kind of plain, brown hair, brown eyes, pear shaped) I'm not really the flirty type anyway, I'm a little too clueless about it, but Stef flirts…and I'm beginning to notice that so does he. I'm glad that they are starting to trust him. Maybe I wasn't so wrong after all.

After dinner I got into another game with the children, that somehow ended up with the object being to tackle me to the ground again. WHY?! And this time they wouldn't even explain the rules to me. Meanwhile all the "grown-ups" were sitting around the fire talking. Well at least I was having more fun. Ok…I take the back, eating grass, isn't that much fun.

I hear Chrissy mention something about men to Mr. Puffyshirt. She said it in that voice that let's me know she's complaining about the number of men who hit on her. I think secretly she likes it though. She's really the only one out of any of us who gets hit on. I think I'm either number 3 or 4. Some guys are real jerks and if they strike out with her go for the next in our group, then the next and down the line. Really pathetic. It's a good thing we don't fall for it. Well, for the most part. The voices raise like they are getting angry at something, but Mr. Puffyshirt calms them down, it almost sounds like he's interviewing them for something. Once again they are laughing with him, but he sounds so far away.

Lynn goes to tuck the children into the make-shift beds, it's her turn, besides I think she likes telling them stories as much as I do. I join the campfire, trying to sit as far from Mr. Puffyshirt as possible without sitting across from him, however I can't help but stare sometimes. His hair is really shiny and smooth, and the way the fire reflects his eyes, he almost looks like he could be from another world. I try to look away, before he notices I'm looking, but I think I'm too late. He smiles and I can't stop thinking about that kiss…but I see Chrissy sitting next to him and they look natural. Both beautiful, fit and a hint of storybook characters, him with his eyes and smile, her with her fire-red hair. I really shouldn't get attached to him. Besides, what if he betrays us? I don't even know why that came to mind. I mean, he did protect me back in the town, and he's been with us this whole time. But, even as I listen to him laugh at one of Chrissy and Stef's play-off-each-other jokes, I almost sense a hollowness that wasn't there before. I could be imagining things though. MAN! THAT KISS REALLY SCREWED ME UP!!!

Lynn comes back and we organize who gets what look-out shift by picking assorted shaped leaves from a bag. PLEASE NOT THE MORNING SHIFT! PLEASE NOT THE MORNING SHIFT! YES! Midnight I can do…I will just go to sleep right now, and then wake up when it's time for my shift. We all split up and rest.

"Wake up, it's time for your shift." I hear softly in my ear.

"That tickles" I mumble, still half-asleep. I feel something warm and soft against my cheek for a small second and realize there is a shadow hovering over me. I jump up and my head hits his chest. He still smells nice, darn it…and he's so warm too. I fight the urge to curl up against him. BAD RINA! You shouldn't have these thoughts, remember Pete? How badly that turned out?

"Rina, are you ok?" Mr. Puffyshirt looks concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just grumpy." I answer.

"I thought grumpy was what you were in the morning, right now you just look, confused."

"I had a bad dream, and you startled me out of it, that's all." I start to get out from the blankets.

He leans back on his heels, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Quick think of something "oh, it was just about my ex, that's all." WITHOUT BRINGING UP PETE! Why is it so hard for me to have common sense?

He stands up gracefully and offers me a hand. Did he go to Gentlemen school or something? I normally would be all giddy and smiley, but I feel more like I have butterflies in my stomach than anything. And I'm cold.

"I don't mind staying up to listen."

"Oh, you don't have to, it's fine…really boring anyway."

"Ok, let me rephrase that," he laughs, "I would like to hear more about him, if that's alright."

"Sure." RINA!!! NO!!! BAD IDEA!!! At least play it cool! Wait it doesn't really matter, because, lets face it, if he ends up with anyone it will be Chrissy.

We walk over to the outskirts and sit at the most vulnerable spot for the campsite.

"Well…what was he like?" he asks calmly.

"uhmm…well he was average I guess you could say. As a boyfriend, he did some things that were sweet, and some things that were jerky, and in the end, I just found out how much he lied about. That's about it." Good…not too much information, not showing any vulnerability…wait…why is he putting his arm around me? I OBJECT! Ok…I SHOULD object…but it feels nice…ok…I won't object but I'll keep it in mind in case he makes me mad.

"What kind of things did he do?"

"Oh, just the normal, you know, he talked about me behind my back, tried to pit me against friends and family to see how far I would defend the relationship, he cheated on me once "by accident". You know…the usual jerky things."

He chuckled "There's no such thing as "cheating by accident" you either do or you don't. But why did you stay with him if he was pitting you against your friends and such?"

"I didn't realize it at the time…I told you before, I'm an awful judge of character. I got more of the story after we broke up, and I realized it then."

He pulled me closer, and didn't say another word. At first my heart was racing as I remember the last time he pulled me to him, but eventually it calmed down. I feel the fabric of his puffy shirt against my face, but I can't help but think about what will happen when we reach the next kingdom. Are we almost there? Will we live in a town, or really be on our own? Will Mr. Puffyshirt leave us and go home, or stay with us? I don't know how much time passed but I snap out of my thoughts and he kisses me on the top of my head, ruffles my hair, whispers "goodnight" and walks back to camp. This is one of the few times in my life I've ever been aware of the events around me, and I have sadly realized that I am more like a younger sister to him than anything.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning, after we've gotten everything packed up and started to move, Mr. Puffyshirt announces that we only have one more stop. I had no idea we were so close, but I suppose it's a good thing. He must think there are guards around the border, by the way he's been so quiet. Everyone else seems excited though, especially the children who I suspect are tired of traveling.

As we approach a clearing, I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach that something isn't right. I have to ride in the back though, since I don't have any of the children with me. Come to think of it, Mr. Puffyshirt hasn't even looked back once to see if I'm doing my job, he's usually a little paranoid that I'd be spacing out or something.

We entered the clearing and dismount, I don't know what I was so worried about. I run to go collect water before anyone else, I really just need to be alone with my thoughts right now. I know everyone is warming up to Mr. Puffyshirt, and I know that since that kiss I've been acting weird. I don't know what's wrong with me. I started to notice how his hair looks, how he smells, his smile, and I start thinking about what it would be like to be held by him. I shake my head again. I shouldn't think these things, they aren't going to happen, and I should just get over it. Maybe if I tell him though, hearing him explain "I'm sorry I made you think that way, I really like Chrissy" or something would make me stop thinking. I would stop these stupid scenarios in my head. Like where he comes to get me right now, to see where I've gone, and kisses me on the forehead and laughs "is that all?" and then helps me carry the water back. I shake my head again, like that's ever going to happen.

As I approach camp I hear voices of men, and I look from behind a tree. Where is everyone? It's then that I see the children being tied up by two of the guards while other guards are busy attacking my friends. Chrissy, Gloria, Chloe and Erica are fighting them off and have more guards near them, but the rest already look like they have lost. On the other side of camp I hear Mr. Puffyshirt's commanding voice.

"Unhand me! Just Who do you think I am?!"

The guard bows and responds, "Forgive me Prince Carnelian*, I did not recognize you in that shirt."

"WHY IS IT ALWAYS THIS SHIRT?! Get up and do your job." He walks away.

I stand there in shock for a moment…he turned us in… we were so close too. AND HE'S THE PRINCE??!!! WHAT??!!! ALL THIS TIME?!! HOW COULD HE??!!! I can't believe I trusted him.

It's then that I feel my arms being grabbed, and I use my elbow and turn to face my attacker. One of the guards thinks he's caught me. A swift palm to the chin and he's knocked to the ground. I run blindly into the clearing to defend my friends. A kick here, a punch there, I know I've gotten hit more than a few times, and I'm not sure if the blood on my knuckles is mind or theirs, either way it stings. Another elbow, a dodge and redirect that punch, I didn't study self-defense for nothing. But there are too many, and I can't hear anymore, every sound in my ears feels like a waterfall. I look around and see the guards have made a circle, it's just like in a battle scene, what I don't expect is to turn around and see Mr. Puffyshi…no…the _Prince_ facing me and holding his hand up to the guards.

He starts to casually walk towards me "If you insist on fighting," he stalks closer like a cat toying with it's dinner, "I will be your opponent."

"So be it." I CAN'T BELIEVE I TRUSTED HIM!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I FANTASIZED ABOUT HIM!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE WE KISSED! I CAN'T BELIEVE I ASKED FOR HIS HELP! AND HERE HE IS, TOYING WITH ME LIKE I'M A MOUSE!!! WELL THE JOKE'S ON YOU BUDDY! I'VE BEEN CALLED A MOUSE TOO MANY TIMES, AND THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!!! I don't know how long he's been standing there, how did he get this close to me? I stare him right in the face, take all my anger and direct it into one punch to his solo plexus.

There is a look of shock as he realizes that I actually hit him, and not in the face like he thought. But he only doubled over slightly before he reached out to grab my neck. I could see a temper rise in his eyes like I never knew existed in him. But then again, I never knew that there was a law-abiding jerk of a prince in there either! I twist his wrist, but realize that was just a distraction as a round-house punch comes to my side. I move but lose my balance over the foot-sweep. I still throw up a kick, but missed and its then that I lost all my ability to see what was coming at me. I know I am throwing punches and kicks, and I know I've been blocking but I've been hit, and I have hit some targets, but not many. For the most part, we seem equal, which confuses me. Why not let the guards fight? Aren't they more trained for this sort of thing? This thinking led to almost getting hit on the head…bad idea to space out in a fight. He smiles like he knew what I was thinking. Something comes flying at my head and he catches it instinctively.

"I didn't want you to get hurt" I hear whispered in my ear before I throw an elbow strike to his ribs…how did he get behind me?

" That's why," He has backed off and holds up something that's still moving in his hand. The sunlight shining off of it…and that's when I realize, he's holding a fish. A FLOPPY, GROSS, SLIMY, BUG-EYED DISGUSTING FISH!!!

"If you continue to fight instead of surrender quietly, I will personally make sure that a living fish is close enough to touch you at all times." He doesn't look like he's joking.

WHY DO I HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF FISH?!! WHY???! IT'S SUCH A USELESS FEAR I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD EVER COME UP IN A REAL SITUATION?!! WHAT KIND OF PERSON THREATENS WITH A FISH??!!! Oh wait…the kind of person who knows me. WHY DID I LET HIM IN?!!!

I stand silent, catching my breath for a moment and look around. Everyone is in the back of carts, tied up separately. I don't even know how many guards are here, or nearby…and I'm being threatened by a stupid fish! I realize that my vision is starting to get dark around the sides, as if my peripheral vision is gone, I really should sit down. I can't believe I'm thinking about giving in…but he isn't smiling, or toying with me anymore. I have no choice as the guards tie my arms and legs together, there are certainly more than two trying this feat, but I have made up my mind to never look at the face of that TRAITOR again. I feel sick.

* Carnelian- This stone represents confidence, boldness, initiative, dramatic abilities, assertiveness and outgoingness. Precision, analysis, stimulates appetite, encourages celebration and brings awareness of feelings. It is the stone of passion and sexuality. This stone helps you feel anchored and comfortable with your surroundings. Provides a connection to the past or to historical events. Carnelian can improve motivation.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Somehow I got stuck in the empty cart…well empty isn't quite the word for it, I have some supplies for the guards, but no one is with me. I guess they thought I'd do something crazy if I was with someone, like induce revolt or something. I wish I had that kind of power…but anyway, it's their problem that I'm alone, because that means I CAN SING!!! (Yes, you heard me right, sing. I never sing in front of people because their faces twitch when they are trying to be nice, but when they aren't they laugh, jeer or just plain cover their ears. But I still enjoy it, it helps get all of my emotions out). For this emotion, and moment in time I will sing "Angels" by Within Temptation, and loudly too!

"…The smile when you tore me apart.

You took my heart,

Deceived me right from the start.

You showed me dreams,

I wished they'd turn into real.

You broke a promise and made me realize.

It was all just a lie.

Sparkling angel, I couldn't see

Your dark intentions, your feelings for me.

Fallen angel, tell me why?

What is the reason, the thorn in your eye?

I see the angels,

I'll lead them to your door

There's no escape now

No mercy no more

No remorse cause I still remember…"

I belt out the lyrics with all of my heart and soul. All the pain of being deceived, everyone I care about but was unable to protect because of a foolish mistake. The feeling of being taken advantage of. Everything I felt I knew about _him_, was all just a lie. Why did he wait so long, get our hopes up?

After I finished my last off-key note I hear a loud voice outside of the cart. "Prince, are you feeling ok?" His voice raises "Shut up in there! Or we'll gag you too!"

"It's fine." The traitors voice sounds quieter than normal.

I'm trying to think of something else to sing, but we hit some really bad bumps in the road and then…

I woke up in a dark cell, there is only a little bit of light coming in from a dusty light-fixture out in the hall past the bars. Somehow we must have reached the dungeons, that's the only word that comes to mind from this smell. The last thing I remember is something falling and judging by the sharp pain in the back of my head, it must have hit me. NOW, I'm using deductive reasoning. I quickly feel around the stone and the bars hoping for some kind of sign that it's all fake, or that there's someway out the guards had missed. No such luck.

Now, if this was a fairytale, and that traitorous prince was actually a prince charming, then being found unconscious upon reaching the castle I would have woken up in a soft feather bed in a beautifully gilded room. Oh who am I kidding, I've never been a princess type…if anyone was going to be treated like a princess by the prince charming it would be Chrissy…although maybe because she's too much of a fighter…My guess would Erica, and then maybe Gloria second. BUT, as a trustworthy friend and lovable sidekick, I should get some special treatment too right? Once again, earth to Rina, those lovable characters also usually are the first to die for the cause, to protect their princess…I can't help but start laughing manically. I'd have been killed by a FISH! It's so much funnier when I'm not being faced with it. Instead I'll just rot in prison forever.

"Rina, is that you?" I hear a voice from some side of me, but it's not from my cell.

"Who's asking?" I can't help but be cautious now, even though I have nothing to lose now…I'm still being stung by the most recent betrayal. I can't believe I'm such a bad judge of character that I'm in a situation like this. That I even put my friends lives in this kind of danger, all because of such a foolish mistake. If I had just learned not to trust anyone after I first discovered this character flaw….

"Rina, it's us" I hear Lynn's voice

"Yeah, we were all put into the same cell, but we don't know why you weren't put in with us?" that sounds like Chloe.

"Do you have the nicer cell or the worse one?" That's definitely Chrissy.

"I don't know. For your sakes I'm hoping you guys are in a bigger cell than mine." I look around and try to imagine them all in something this size. "Are the kid's with you?"

"No. They were taken somewhere else." I hear a mix of voices.

"But don't worry, I'm sure that guy, even if he is the prince, will make sure they are taken care of." That was Stef…still believing in a guy like him…I've learned my lesson.

"Uh huh, well what I want to know is, why separate us, but keep us in adjacent cells." It's kind of puzzling really, the only thing I can think of is that they didn't want me to sing, so they put people near me, but they didn't want me to start a revolt, so they didn't let them that close…

"Maybe they were afraid you'd start to sing again. It did cause a commotion." Chrissy laughs.

"Shut up" a gruff male voice yells as a stick rattles against the bars. Judging by the light shrieks, he got a few fingers sticking out. As he walks past my cell I notice that he's one of the guards…but he doesn't appear to have keys on him. There goes that plan.

"Hmmm..."

The guard stares at me…it looks like he's been warned...I laugh to myself.  
"What, you think you're funny? Or is it that you think you'll escape?" He grins menacingly.

" Oh…well I was just thinking…" I say with a smile, "It's a small world after all, It's a small world after all, It's a small world after all, It's a small small world." I start to sing. Ah…he thinks I'm kidding, or that I'm crazy. Either way he didn't want to stay around me, so he moved on. And I kept on singing.

I sang every heartfelt, romantic, sweet, or childlike annoying song I know. Anything, that didn't remind me I was in a dungeon for the rest of my life. After all, if it's the rest of my life, shouldn't I make it happy?

After about the fourth Princess-like song, my friends were even asking me to give it a rest, but I told them that I wanted to spend the rest of my days happy, and dreaming sweet dreams and singing my heart out. I don't know what they really thought, but they were quiet from that point on.

In the middle of my lovely chorus, "If we hold on together, I know our dream will never die, dreams see us through to forever…" The first plea from the guards to stop started.

Perfect…my plan is working out PERFECTLY…I almost want to let out an evil laugh like the villains in those plays do...actually…I will. I laugh an evil laugh at their request. "What? You don't like my singing or my choice of songs? Well too bad, as long as I'm in here, I'm going to keep on singing!" I continue with my song…

By this time I know when the guards are changing shift because the noise of them trying to drown out my voice drops for a moment before the new guys realize what is happening. This glorious moment can only mean…the night shift is over, and it's morning, the perfect song being, "OH MR. SUN SUN MR. GOLDEN SUN PLEASE SHINE DOWN ON ME!!!" followed by "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…" and the groans start in again. I know I'm annoying my friends too…but something inside of me just gave in and I slipped a tad bit into insanity. And I like it!

I wake up, but my friends say I've been singing in my sleep, so it hasn't mattered that much. So I continue on to my favorite, DUETS! And I am so overtired and bored that, Yes, I will sing BOTH parts! I start with "Don't go breakin' my heart" and throw in a dance routine. The guards seemed to have stopped their complaining, but I think it's just a new tactic to try to get me to stop; that whole, ignore the tantruming child trick. It's not going to work though. And somewhere at the beginning of my LOVELY rendition of ALL the Moulin Rouge songs, I hear a heavy door slam.

When I start the Elephant Love Medley, both parts, I hear the door slam again and footsteps come down, but I'm not going to stop singing now…I really like this song! And I've even arranged how to sing to myself. When I'm on the left side, I'm Satine, and on the right I'm Christian.

"We should be lovers!"

"We can't do that!"

"We should be lovers and that is a fact!"

…

"how wonderful life is…now you're in…the world…" that's when I hear the clapping…I completely forgot about the door and the steps…I was singing and dancing, and lets face it…actually enjoying myself. I turn around and there is _that traitor_.

I deliberately stare at his shirt, (at least it's not the puffy shirt, that would be an insult) and not his face. "What are you doing here? You might get your royal self, dusty." Ok…maybe it was a bit too harsh hitting the royal spot…but HE BETRAYED ME!

"I've been begged and pleaded with to move up your trials, so the guards' don't have to listen to your…interesting…choice of music." He sounded so…what's the word…regal…no he's a traitor, he sounded so pompous.

"AND HER VOICE!!!" the guard next to him pipes up.

He turned to the guard and said in a quiet but very threatening voice "Did you forget the conditions for this arrangement? If you do not remain silent, you will be stationed right in front of her cell for the next 12 hours, and I shall delay the trial those 12 hours, Understood?"

I look up and see the guard nod in fear. Apparently my plan doubled as a way to punish disobedient guards. Great…

"You will be tried as a group, and it will take place in three hours time." He turned his attention to all of us, but I still refuse to look at his face. "This bumbling idiot of a guard will be stationed here for those three hours. If he offends you in any way, and I mean, any way, then feel free to sing your heart out." I sense the amusement in his voice. This guard has gotten the bad side of that temper I saw back in the clearing and I guess it is kind of funny to think of using singing as a punishment.

After he left I took a good look at the guard. He was middle aged, and not very interesting to look at. He looked really scared, and upset though. Probably because his punishment is left in the hands of a prisoner. Personally I don't think this idea is that bad…maybe if the guards had some idea of "what goes around comes around" they would be a little nicer. Either way, I think I'll just go to sleep. I will probably need all my energy to fight for our case in a few hours.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I am woken up by the sounds of clinking, and I realize it must be time for our trial. Unfortunately I forgot that waking up doesn't agree with me, and I was led groggily up some steps, trying not to step on anyone's feet.

It was like stepping into a new world. There was a massive amount of light, and then came the sound waves. People chattering all at once, and it was like being hit. You couldn't even look down because the floor was reflecting the shine of the rest of the light. I see people dressed in bright colors, well bright for me, and I look down at my once nice clothes. I'm glad I decided not to wear the new clothes that….that traitor…bought, when we FELL INTO HIS TRAP!!! Ok, I have to be calm about this. Starting to insult the royalty related to whoever's judging our trial won't help us.

We enter a gorgeous room, the floor is shiny with warm tones, and the whole back wall looks like a series of glass windows, all with beautiful decorations to separate the panes. On both sides are rows of seats, which I imagine we'll be sitting in when we are waiting for our turn to talk to the king. In front is a beautiful throne, everything looks polished and well-taken care of. Well I guess that's the perk of having servants. We are led up the middle between the seats and are asked to remain standing while the King enters the room. Great…now I get to see that jerk's father.

The music heralds the Kings entrance, and that's when I see him…The traitor…now King Carnelian. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!??!! He walks out calmly and motions for everyone to sit, except we weren't given chairs so we get to stand there for the whole kingdom to see. He sits down and motions to the left…well his right, my left. A man in a guards uniform stands up.

With a deep and powerful voice, projecting the very image of a king he says, "Is this the girl, you were attacked by?" He motions to Chrissy, who instinctively steps forward. CHRISSY!! DON'T GIVE IN!!!

The man turns and answers, "Yes, she's the one who started it, but all of them were the one's who attacked me, your highness. If it was only one or even two girls I could have handled the situation." He puffs out his chest proudly and smiles a greedy smile at Chrissy, who shudders in either fear or rage, I don't know.

"If that is true, then that's all I need to know." The king turns to the man leering at Chrissy.

"It's true." He continues to smile. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS OUR TRIAL!!! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!! DO WE EVEN GET A SAY?!! HE'S BEEN WITH US FOR MOST OF OUR TRIP, LYING TO US AND NOW WON'T EVEN GIVE US THE FAIR TREATMENT AS HUMANS TO TELL OUR OWN STORY??!!!

The King raises his right hand snaps his finger. Guards appear out of what seems like thin air, and grab the man before he realizes what's happening. Shouts and protests continue, but he is dragged out of the main room and everyone else stares in silent awe at the king. Even I could not help but look at him, if only for a moment.

"My loyal, and confused subjects, allow me to shed some light on what just happened here," He begins with a voice that sounds like a proclamation is to be announced, his arms spread out as if to hug the entire kingdom…and what looks like some loose-fitting sleeves peek out from under the royal cape…is it possible that he's wearing… "The women you see before you were being charged with the murder of that man. Since he was obviously alive enough to come here today and charge them with harassment, then the charge was annulled. I have heard both sides of the "harassment" story, and found that the man was actually the first to offend, and the ladies you see before you were only guilty of self-defense in this manner. As for their irresponsibility in running away from the situation, only one person can be blamed for that."

Oh, here it is…everyone ELSE gets to go home free, but because I dragged him into this, because I came up with this crazy plan, because I physically fought him, because I angered all of the guards with my singing….

"That person is me. It has been brought to my attention that the training for my guards is incomplete. The guards in my employment are missing compassion, and therefore are viewed as untrustworthy and a threat to my people. For this, I am truly sorry. I intend to right this wrong, and become worthy of the title of Your King." With this he took a bow to the subjects gathered there today. I'm sure this will be talked about all over the kingdom in a few days. But…

"I have one question!" I yell, even though at this point my voice is almost cracking.

"Just one?" he looks at me and smiles. GRRR…..I STILL…THIS…YOU STILL…grrr…

"well…." I shrug a little although I doubt he can see it from up there, "What happened to the children?" I suddenly remember my original question and ask.

"That is not up for public discussion, however, if you would like to know, then you may stay after the rest of my subjects have departed, and I will gladly answer your question." He smiled again, and sat back down turning his attention to the other subjects.

"Are there any more situations that need my consideration?" He waits a moment before continuing. "Then if that is all the business for today, I thank and dismiss you." The rest of the people bow and start filing out of the main room, while the group of us, now unattended by guards stand around trying to take in everything that just happened.

At some point while I am admiring the ceiling, I realize that everyone has moved to the other side of the room where I see Mr….no the king, standing.

"Lost in thought again I see." He laughs as I make my way over to them.

"The children, where are they?" I don't want to laugh, I don't want him to smile, I don't want to know why he put us through this, or why he changed his mind, or what was going through his mind. I want to make sure the children are safe. I want my friends to be safe. I want to take a bath, and sleep in a warm fluffy bed and not worry about who's hitting on Chrissy, or whether I'll be a second choice, or just a kid sister or annoying punishment. I don't want to worry about my bad judgment or whether I'll ever be able to trust anyone again.

"They are upstairs. I made sure they ate, and had clean clothes and brushed their teeth and were taken care of. Right now they are in the middle of being tested by some tutors I hired to see where each of them belonged in the education system. When they are finished, they should be brought down here so we can decide whether they want to be with any of us, or go back to the orphanage."

"Why would they…"I get cut off, "I've actually been working on reforming the orphanages, I've been sending letters here to have things changed while I was with you all on that adventure. If they went back I would probably have asked them to do some spy-work for me."

"THAT'S AWFUL!!! You can't make a child become a spy! That's not fair to them if they have to judge things, that's a lot of pressure, and what happens if the person they are supposed to evaluate threatens them? Or they start threatening him or her?! That kind of power is difficult for adults to handle, let alone children! They should be raised in a carefree loving environment that allows them to explore all the possibilities!" Ok…maybe I went a bit too far with my rant…but at least that's what my rant was about, right?

"Ahhh…Rina...." he just started to laugh. That's it…I'm cranky and he shouldn't laugh. So I kick him…except he starts laughing harder. I guess I shouldn't have kicked the King…wait a minute…HE IS WEARING THE PUFFY SHIRT!!! Underneath his royal robes before HE WAS WEARING IT! I'm STILL RIGHT!!! I think…

"Well, anyway…If we are allowed to choose, I want to take Jasmine!" Lynn seems a little too enthusiastic. But before anyone can say anything we could hear a stampede coming down stairs somewhere…of course the palace could just echo.

Before we know it we are looking at some tousled but clean and happy looking children with faces practically glowing with excitement. Then they all start talking at once. It sounded like Michael was talking about the food, but Tim was bragging about his math grade, "And she said I did GREAT!" Jasmine was clinging to Lynn's leg and trying to yell above the boys' about how she got to wear a pretty bright colored dress. I look around and Sion is rocking Caren in her little arms trying to keep her calm even though there is so much noise.

I clap once, then twice, then three times in a rhythm we learned when we were working with children during one of the community services. The children quiet down quickly and King Carnelian explains what we were discussing earlier. Before he even finishes though, Jasmine clings back to Lynn and yells, "I wanna go with Lynn!!!"

"Ok, well that settles that." He states, leading to another serious of shouts from the children claiming their adult. Tim wants Chrissy because "she's fun" and Chrissy is ok with that because "I was just as stubborn as he was a kid." Completing the trio, Stef calls "dibs" on Michael, and Michael looked just so overjoyed to be wanted that no one even questioned it.

"WAIT A MINUTE!!! NOBODY WANTS TO STAY WITH ME??!!" I obviously overreact, but still…I've been playing the dragon with these kids and they look so cute, and I mean, I'd rather them be with who they are happiest with, but still…I'm going to miss them!!! "WHY??!!"

"Because you're a DRAGON!" Tim answers.

"Because you're just a kid, and we need a grown-up." Michael answers, and Jasmine just nods. Ok…now I feel dejected.

"We'll stay with you…that is, if you want us." The soft voice of Sion floats over from the other side of the circle we've been gathered in.

"REALLY!??!! I would love to have you both as my kids!" I am happy!! So I run over and hug them both. EEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But…I have to ask… "But, are you just choosing me because you feel bad for me, or because you actually want me to be your mom?"

She blushes a little, "Well actually, I want to stay with you…because…you sound like my mom did when you sing." I give her another big hug, but I can hear everyone else trying really hard not to laugh at remember how my singing tortured the guards.

"Ok, well I should go and prepare the paperwork for the adoptions then, I know it's after lunch time, why don't you all go and get some lunch?" He smiles and points to the kitchen but then taps me on the shoulder, "Rina, would you mind coming with me?" he asks. I look back and find my friends herding the children toward the kitchen and Chrissy gives me a mischievous smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 or Epilogue

AHA! He must have asked her to marry him, and because I was lost in my own world I'm the only one who didn't hear. But that's probably better because he probably doesn't want me to mention the kiss, err...fake kiss from that night. That must be it. And I was worried.

"But I WANT FOOD!!!!"

I follow him anyway. We get to his office and he motions for me to sit down while he closes the door. It's really a nice office, it's filled with dark woods, deep burgundies and forest greens. He seems a little nervous but he has a better idea of what he wants to say than I do at this point.

"When I first met you, I was actually with the guards that day. Part of me was hoping for a little adventure before I settled down to become King. Then the guards leaving so suddenly, plus I knew I could outrun them, so I did. I didn't expect to find a bunch of women, let alone one's that were clueless and didn't intend to commit a crime. So, I kept the guards off your backs for a while and tried to figure out the story. That took longer than expected because you were the only one who opened up to me right away, and you weren't even part of the original conflict and didn't bother to ask. Even after I found out what happened though, I should have told you who I was. I became nervous about going back to become King, about resigning myself to a life where people depend on me for everything, and you were so interesting, I had no idea what you were going to do next. You had this blind faith even though you claim you know you have bad judgment, and you jump headfirst without thinking and somehow it turns out ok. I didn't know what to make of you. After I talked to Chrissy though, about what really happened, and I realized the flaws in my system, the one's you were pointing out to me, the one's she mentioned, I knew I had to go back, but it had to look like I was still on that guys side. If it didn't, he wouldn't have shown up and I may not have been as successful in arresting him. It also wouldn't have proved that he was actually still alive. So, that is why things turned out the way they did. I'm sorry…I did not intend to hurt you or anyone." How does he do that?!!! He looks so apologetic, and yet still has composure.

"Everything worked out ok, so it's fine. Besides, that's not really the reason you asked to speak with me alone is it?" Ok…that all makes sense now…I guess I was right in trusting him anyway…why am I so easily swayed by him?!!! GRRR…once he tells me he loves Chrissy though, then I can knock all of this silliness out of my head once and for all!

"Sometimes, you are amazing at hitting the nail on the head, Rina. You're right, that's not the real reason I wanted to speak with you alone." He looks a little relieved. I KNEW IT!

"It's because you don't want me to tell Chrissy about the kiss when we were trying to fool the guards, right?" Wait a minute…if he was on the side of the guards, then….

"And this time is a huge miss. Why would I care if Chrissy knew about that?"

"But if you were on the guard's side, and they saw you kissing someone, then..." I scratch my head for a while, "YOU MUST NOT HAVE REALLY WANTED THEM TO KNOW WHERE YOU WERE!" I couldn't help myself, I got carried away with that thought process…

"What?!"

"Oh what did you ask before?" stupid inner monologueing.

"you were inner monologueing again weren't you?" he folds his arms over his chest, accentuating the puffyness of the puffy shirt.

"Uh….heehee?" I just shrug

"I asked, why would I care if Chrissy knew about the kiss?"

"Well, the way she chuckled when you asked to speak to me alone…I figured she, that you and her…well that maybe you proposed to her or something, and I missed it because I was staring at the ceiling" "and inner monologueing," I added under my breath.

He looked like someone smacked him in the forehead with a book. There was some awkward silence.

"I am sorry if I gave the impression that I was interested in Chrissy in that way. I really have no romantic feelings toward her." He still looked dazed.

"Oh…well then who is it? Is it Gloria? Or Erica?" Please say it isn't Stef, she isn't you're type at all…well maybe from what you said you used to be like…

"It's you, Rina. It's always been you, even through you're quirky habits and oddball ways of thinking, the one I've always been interested in is you."

"What?! Me? But…Huh?" Even though my heart is racing…I don't understand.

"I even found reasonable excuses to kiss you…TWICE!"

I start laughing, "This can't be real, this has to be a dream…I must have passed out after all of the love song duets, and now my brain is just going haywire…after all I really couldn't stop thinking about you after that kiss, but everyone loves Chrissy first…so really it couldn't be real, and I can't pinch myself because I'll do that in my dream too…besides…if this was real, you wouldn't expect me to take anything seriously let alone make any kind of decisions on an empty stomach. So there!"

"Back to the food again…let me guess, you made the decision to run away on an empty stomach right?"

"yup."

"And therefore the one to involve me too?"

"Yup."

"And the one about the children?

"It was half and half."

"And the running blindly into a fight, even when given the opportunity to get away?"

"Yup. But that was also rage induced too, feelings of betrayal and all that."

"And what about the plan to sing to torture the guards?"

"Oh…well that was always a dream of mine…"

"So, you still think you're dreaming now?

"Yup, only explanation."

"Then tell me what you think of me."

"Nuh uh…you could be standing watching me from the hallway and sometimes I talk in my sleep, so you could probably hear me." I feel myself turning red though…stupid body, why are you giving me away like this??!!

"Is there anyway I can show you you're not dreaming?" He gets up and starts moving around the desk closer to me… Calm down Rina, since this is a dream, you can just fly away if need be.

"I don't think so." With that he leans over the chair and kisses me. Not on the cheek like before when he was trying to wake me up, but mouth to mouth, sliding his tongue over mine in such a way that I can't even imagine this being a dream. Wait…if this isn't a dream then…

He pulls away and stares at my face…which I can imagine is quite shocked right now…wait so does that mean???

"So…does this mean…you love me?"

"Yes." He smiles and I can't help but smile too…

I can't help but feel all giddy. "I love you too" wait a minute, I don't know that, why did I impulsively say such a thing…EXPLAIN!

"Even though you annoy me…and get under my skin like no other, but…you've always" I am cut off with another kiss, followed by another and another.

"Wait, what about Sion and Caren?" Don't ask how my mind went from absolute bliss to worry…the watered down version was Happiness= hope friends are happy= how long have we been gone, would they notice= what would they tell the kids= Sion and Caren. Ta Da!

"I was figuring we could adopt them together. I'd eventually like to marry you too…but I realize this is a bit fast, especially for someone who thought I was in love with Chrissy the whole time." There's that grin again, that sarcastic, charming smile.

I stick my tongue out at him. "Ok, we can adopt them together…but before any marriage plans are made, maybe we should try to live together for a while first…you know, not out on the run?"

"Sounds good to me. Should we get back to the others before they send a search crew?"

"I was just thinking that." I can't help but smile as he extends his arm in that princely way. EEEEEEE!!!! We walk down the hallway, well I rather float. He LOVES ME HE LOVES ME…HE LOVES ME!!!

"Wait a minute!!! If you loved me and wanted me to be you're princess, then WHY IS IT THAT WHEN I AWOKE FROM AN UNCONCIOUS STATE I WAS IN A DUNGEON AND NOT A SOFT FLUFFY BED IN A BEAUTIFUL ROOM??!! That is what's supposed to happen to a princess when her prince finds her unconscious!! "

"Ahh..I did think about that, but you see, I am not a Prince, I am a King, and I would want to make you my Queen. A Princess may need special treatment like that, but a Queen stands her ground and fights for her people, in this case you're friends."

"Technicalities…" I mutter, but judging from the laughter, my friends overheard the argument from the kitchen. We explained everything to them…well, except for the misunderstanding about Chrissy…and Sion seems to be perfectly happy with the idea of a mom and a dad, as she said "Especially for Caren who may have never seen a real family." I think Sion was happy too though, she actually laughed that day. I am so happy! Life couldn't get better. I have two beautiful children and I have Mr. Puffyshirt!!!

"Rina, time to end the inner monologue now and come back to us…" Carnelian kisses me on the cheek.

"Ok". Inner monologue: End!


End file.
